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A review by mollyzor
The King's Curse by Philippa Gregory
3.0
This was not my favorite of the Gregory's Tudor novels but it was pretty solid. As always, this book left me deeply intrigued by the real history behind the time and the person. After reading these it never fails, I immediately start looking for nonfiction books on the same subject.
The story is told from the point of view of Margaret Pole. One of the last of the Plantagenet line. Margaret is such an interesting woman. She lived a long life and went from royal line to lowly knight's wife, to destitute, to one of only two woman during the time to own lands in her own right, to member of the royal court, to prisoner in the Tower. Her life was filled with so many ups and downs. She was truly a great woman.
The parts about her were great. However, I found the book to be too long. I think too much time was taken during the period Henry was trying to set Catherine of Aragon aside and marry Anne Boleyn. Too many details about every lost child. To me, Margaret's personal story was more interesting, perhaps because I hadn't really heard it before. I thought the book did a great job of portraying a country in turmoil with a king that was becoming more and more irrational. Painting a picture of how difficult it was to members of the court/aristocracy to keep their heads during the era. Literally. I don't think I fully realized how unhinged Henry VIII was until this book. He was literally just killing people on a whim. In the afterword of the book Gregory describes him as a serial killer...and I don't think she is wrong. In the end, I think the man was a monster as was very clearly suffering from some kind of mental illness.
I wish it would have gone a little deeper into how Margaret felt about Geoffrey, her son that supplied "evidence" against her. He was responsible for her son's, grandson's, and her death. How was there not some resentment? Not sure if the woman should be beatified, but she was definitely a remarkable woman.
Definitely a read for anyone who is a fan of Gregory's other books in the series or who is interested in the Tudors/Cousin's War era (as long as you can stand a little embellishment/foray beyond the facts).
The story is told from the point of view of Margaret Pole. One of the last of the Plantagenet line. Margaret is such an interesting woman. She lived a long life and went from royal line to lowly knight's wife, to destitute, to one of only two woman during the time to own lands in her own right, to member of the royal court, to prisoner in the Tower. Her life was filled with so many ups and downs. She was truly a great woman.
The parts about her were great. However, I found the book to be too long. I think too much time was taken during the period Henry was trying to set Catherine of Aragon aside and marry Anne Boleyn. Too many details about every lost child. To me, Margaret's personal story was more interesting, perhaps because I hadn't really heard it before. I thought the book did a great job of portraying a country in turmoil with a king that was becoming more and more irrational. Painting a picture of how difficult it was to members of the court/aristocracy to keep their heads during the era. Literally. I don't think I fully realized how unhinged Henry VIII was until this book. He was literally just killing people on a whim. In the afterword of the book Gregory describes him as a serial killer...and I don't think she is wrong. In the end, I think the man was a monster as was very clearly suffering from some kind of mental illness.
I wish it would have gone a little deeper into how Margaret felt about Geoffrey, her son that supplied "evidence" against her. He was responsible for her son's, grandson's, and her death. How was there not some resentment? Not sure if the woman should be beatified, but she was definitely a remarkable woman.
Definitely a read for anyone who is a fan of Gregory's other books in the series or who is interested in the Tudors/Cousin's War era (as long as you can stand a little embellishment/foray beyond the facts).